Alert archive / Minnesota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 176, NWS Grand Forks, ND
NWS Grand Forks, ND issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Aug 5, 1997, 3:55 PM CDT for Marshall County, Polk County, Minnesota. It was in force for 35 min. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.
The facts
- Issued
- Aug 5, 1997, 3:55 PM CDT (20:55 UTC)
- Expired
- Aug 5, 1997, 4:30 PM CDT
- In force
- 35 min
- Issued by
- NWS Grand Forks, ND
- Area
- Whole counties
Counties Marshall County, MN, Polk County, MN
The radar
The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 92 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:55 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.
Open the radar archive at this moment
The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 5, 4:00 PM CDT | Hail 0.75 | Stephen, MN | A hailstorm left a damage path 4 miles wide by 10 miles long over western Marshall county. 25,000 acres were destroyed by hail. |
NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in.
The nearest sounding before it
International Fa, MN (KINL), launched 12:00Z, 8.9 hours before the alert went out and 235 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1490 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 37 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 46 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 68 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.
000 TTAA00 KFAR 052055 RRA SVRFAR MNC089-119-052130- BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND 355 PM CDT TUE AUG 5 1997 THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 430 PM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS... IN NORTHWEST MINNESOTA ...WESTERN MARSHALL COUNTY...NORTHWESTERN POLK COUNTY AT 355 PM CDT...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 5 MILES SOUTHWEST OF STEPHEN OR 40 MILES NORTH OF THIEF RIVER FALLS MINNESOTA MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 30 MILES AN HOUR. TOWNS IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM INCLUDE WARREN AND ALVARADO. REMEMBER SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAN AND OCCASIONALLY DO PRODUCE TORNADOES WITH LITTLE OR NO ADVANCE WARNING.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Grand Forks, ND wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Aug 5, 2:50 PM CDT, 1 hour 5 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Aug 5, 2:50 PM CDT, 1 hour 5 minutes before
FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
250 PM CDT TUE AUG 5 1997
FCST CONCERN WILL BE SVR TSRA DEVELOPMENT INTO EARLY PART OF PERIOD.
SFC LOW HAS DEVELOPED ACROSS NE ND/S MB BORDER WITH TRAILING COLD FRONT
ACROSS NORTH PART OF STATE. ALL MORNING AND INTO AFTERNOON HOURS SCT
TSRA HAVE OCCURRED MAINLY ALONG N/S ORIENTED THERMAL BOUNDARY OVR
NORTHERN MN. WITH RAIN AND CLOUD COOLED AIR TEMPS ACROSS PTNS OF N MN
REMAIN GENERALLY IN THE 60S TO AROUND 70 DEGREES. ALTHOUGH A SEVERE
THREAT CONT FOR NW MN BELIEVE BEST AREA HAS SHIFTED WESTWARD TO INCLUDE
MOST OF ND. ALTHOUGH LOW LEVEL MOISTURE IS MARGINAL 60-65 DEGREE
DEWPOINTS EXIST ACROSS N CENTRAL ND INTO S MB NEAR SFC LOW. PLENTY OF
SOLAR HAS RISEN TEMPS INTO THE UPPER 70S AND 80S ACROSS ND. VERTICAL
SHEAR PROFILE ALSO CONDUSIVE FOR SVR WX. FROM PROGGED FAR SOUNDING TSRA
SHOULD TRACK SE AROUND 30KT. TSRA SHOULD MOVE OUT OF S PTN OF REGION BY
MID FOLLOWED BY DECREASING CLDS. MOS TEMPS FROM MID 50S TO AROUND 60
SEEM REASONABLE. WITH WK SFC FLOW AND CLEARING LATE AREAS OF FOG PSBL.
FOR DVL...THIS EVENING...SCT TSRA FEW PSBL SEVERE.
TONIGHT...DEC CLDS. LOW MID 50S N 5 TO 10.
GFK...THIS EVENING...SCT TSRA FEW PSBL SEVERE.
TONIGHT...DEC CLDS. LOW MID 50S. LT N WIND.
FAR...THIS EVENING...SCT TSRA FEW PSBL SEVERE.
TONIGHT...DEC CLDS. LOW MID 50S. LT N WND.
MSP WRK ZONES LOOK OK.
VOELKERIn the hours before
Special weather statement, Aug 5, 1:45 PM CDT, 2 hours 10 minutes before
MNZ001>009-013>017-022>024-027>032-040-NDZ006>008-014>016-024- 026>030-038-039-049-052-053-061200- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND 145 PM CDT TUE AUG 05 1997 ...SEVERE WEATHER MAY OCCUR TODAY OVER EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING... AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE WAS LOCATED ALONG THE NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA/CANADIAN BORDER WITH A TRAILING COLD FRONT ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF NORTHERN NORTH DAKOTA. EAST OF THIS AREA OF LOW PRESSURE SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS HAVE CONTINUED ACROSS NORTHERN MINNESOTA THROUGH THE MORNING AND AFTERNOON HOURS. BECAUSE OF THE RAIN AND CLOUD COVER THE AIRMASS ACROSS THIS AREA HAS BECOME FAIRLY STABLE. ALTHOUGH A SEVERE STORM IS POSSIBLE ACROSS EXTREME WESTERN MINNESOTA ...THE MOST FAVORABLE LOCATION FOR SEVERE WEATHER THIS AFTERNOON HAS SHIFTED WEST TO INCLUDE MOST OF EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA. STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ACROSS NORTHERN PORTIONS OF NORTH DAKOTA THIS AFTERNOON MOVING SOUTHEAST DURING THE EVENING HOURS. SOME OF THESE STORMS COULD BECOME SEVERE WITH THE PRIMARY CONCERN BEING LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. BECAUSE OF THE WIND PATTERN ALOFT...ISOLATED TORNADOS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE. SEVERE WEATHER SPOTTERS MAY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING IN EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA. VOELKER
Special weather statement, Aug 5, 1:58 PM CDT, 1 hour 57 minutes before
MNZ001>009-013>017-022>024-027>032-040-NDZ006>008-014>016-024- 026>030-038-039-049-052-053-061200- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND 145 PM CDT TUE AUG 05 1997 ...SEVERE WEATHER MAY OCCUR TODAY OVER EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING... AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE WAS LOCATED ALONG THE NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA/CANADIAN BORDER WITH A TRAILING COLD FRONT ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF NORTHERN NORTH DAKOTA. EAST OF THIS AREA OF LOW PRESSURE SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS HAVE CONTINUED ACROSS NORTHERN MINNESOTA THROUGH THE MORNING AND AFTERNOON HOURS. BECAUSE OF THE RAIN AND CLOUD COVER THE AIRMASS ACROSS THIS AREA HAS BECOME FAIRLY STABLE. ALTHOUGH A SEVERE STORM IS POSSIBLE ACROSS EXTREME WESTERN MINNESOTA ...THE MOST FAVORABLE LOCATION FOR SEVERE WEATHER THIS AFTERNOON HAS SHIFTED WEST TO INCLUDE MOST OF EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA. STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ACROSS NORTHERN PORTIONS OF NORTH DAKOTA THIS AFTERNOON MOVING SOUTHEAST DURING THE EVENING HOURS. SOME OF THESE STORMS COULD BECOME SEVERE WITH THE PRIMARY CONCERN BEING LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. BECAUSE OF THE WIND PATTERN ALOFT...ISOLATED TORNADOS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE. SEVERE WEATHER SPOTTERS MAY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING IN EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA. VOELKER
The office that day
Everything else NWS Grand Forks, ND issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 5, 5:27 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Polk | 33 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Minnesota, 1997Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1997
Sources
The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.